ELIOT KAMENITZ / THE TIMES PICAYUNENew Orleans Police Chief Warren Riley, center, and members of the clergy, along with local law officials an politicians, address the media on Wednesday during a gathering at the Fifth Church of God in Christ in Gentilly to decry the killing of the church's elderly pastor and his wife.

Olander Cassimere Sr. and his wife, Alphathada

Police Superintendent Warren Riley confirmed Wednesday that an elderly pastor and his wife were gunned down in their Gentilly home last weekend by an intruder looking for a relative of theirs -- presumably the one scheduled to testify next week as a key prosecution witness in an armed robbery and kidnapping trial.

The gunman had earlier sought his target in Slidell, Riley said.

Riley would not elaborate, but court records indicate that a 28-year-old relative of Olander Cassimere Sr. and his wife, Alphathada Cassimere, is scheduled to testify May 21 that he was carjacked and robbed by four people last May in the 7800 block of Sand Street in Little Woods.

Separately, a state court judge Wedneday revoked bail and imprisoned the only suspect arrested in that case, Kashie Fernandez. Prosecutors said she returned home after curfew last weekend, violating the terms of her release.

And without mentioning the Cassimere double killing, police announced Wednesday morning they are seeking another person, Carl Novell, 28, in what appears to be the Sand Street case. A police spokesman declined to link them, but the time, place, charges and name of the investigating officer all match details in Fernandez's case file.

The Cassimere family has said from the beginning that whoever killed the couple was looking for one of their relatives in connection with the carjacking and robbery. Riley's remarks seemed to confirm that.

In fact, Riley said, "this wasn't the first time" the gunman had come looking for the witness.

The intruder "kicked in a door in Slidell looking for this individual a week or two earlier, as well, " Riley said.

"He just happened not to be home. So this (intruder) was determined to locate this young man. And the Reverend Cassimere and his wife were the unfortunate victims of this hideous and horrific individual who had absolutely no reason to kill those two people.

"We have some promising leads; we hope to wrap it up soon, " the police chief said.

An invisible boundary

All of those developments came as Riley, three City Council members, federal law enforcement officials and about 30 clergy colleagues of Olander Cassimere gathered at Fifth Church of God in Christ in Gentilly to angrily decry a rising tide of violence in New Orleans.

Cassimere was pastor of Third Church of God in Christ in the Lower 9th Ward, where his wife sang in the choir.

Several speakers said they felt New Orleans was crossing an invisible boundary, entering a never-before-seen landscape of violence driven by African-American teens and young men drifting without supervision or employable skills.

"The youth in our community are hardened at a level that I have never, ever seen, " Riley said.

Some, like Councilwoman Cynthia Hedge-Morell, blamed an array of ills, including the city's vast post-Katrina experiment with charter schools and companies that do not hire New Orleanians.

Others blamed a lack of vocational education, too few mental health facilities and a lack of parental supervision. Riley pointed in part to violence in music, video games and pop culture.

City Councilman James Carter suggested summoning a listening conference with young black men "and let them tell us what they need."

Meantime, Bishop Gerald Hawkins of Cassimere's denomination, the Church of God in Christ, presented Crimestoppers, the citizens' anonymous tip line, with a donation of $5,000 for information on the Cassimere slayings.

That brings the total Crimestoppers reward to $11,000, said executive director Darlene Cusanza. Separately, local lawyer John Cummings has offered a $10,000 reward.

Five violent months

Riley pointed out that the city is reeling from five months of extraordinary violence, which includes a 14-year-old arrested this week in the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old.

In other incidents this year, a father allegedly killed his 2-year-old child; a man allegedly stabbed his 73-year-old mother to death to get money for drugs; a mentally ill man allegedly beat his parents to death; and three teenagers allegedly killed a popular French Quarter bartender after trying to rob her.

But the murder of the Cassimeres, living at home with an autistic daughter and on the cusp of their 55th wedding anniversary, displays "a mentality that we are not used to dealing with in this city, " Hedge-Morrell said.

And while no one said the Cassimere killings were a case of witness intimidation, Riley and U.S. Attorney Jim Letten spoke as if that were a given. They underscored their need for citizens' testimony, but said they recognized government's responsibility to run effective programs that protect witnesses.

"Witness protection programs have to get better; I know the DA is working on making it better, " Riley said.

Riley declined to identify the case police think the shooting was intended to disrupt.

But Fernandez, 29, who was sent to jail Wednesday, is to stand trial next week in connection with the carjacking and robbing of the Cassimere relative. The Times-Picayune is withholding the relative's name.

Fernandez had been free until about noon Sunday, hours after the Cassimeres were slain.

The night before, Fernandez was two hours late returning home for her 6 p.m. curfew; her compliance is monitored through an electronic ankle bracelet.

Court hearing

At Orleans Criminal Court on Wednesday, prosecutors did not mention the Cassimere killing during the Fernandez hearing, but defense attorney Maurice Tyler demanded that his client not face a penalty for a crime she has not been charged with.

"She is getting treated like a killer and that's not right, " he said.

Tyler suggested he may file a change of venue motion, citing media coverage of the Cassimere killing.

In February, prosecutors obtained a $100,000 material witness bond against the carjacking victim to ensure his cooperation. Under such an arrangement, a witness either goes to jail until trial or remains free at risk of losing his bond money if he flees. But the carjacking victim was in court Tuesday, after the Cassimeres were slain, Tyler noted.

"I saw some looks back and forth, " Tyler said of the Cassimere relative. "He may be harboring some false beliefs as to what really happened" in the murder of the elderly couple, he said.

Criminal District Court Judge Karen Herman issued "stay away" orders banning contact between parties that are at odds in the trial, including the relatives of the alleged carjacking victim and Fernandez.

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Laura Maggi contributed to this report. Bruce Nolan can be reached at bnolan@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3344. Gwen Filosa can be reached at gfilosa@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3304